Autonomous vehicles use various computing systems to aid in transporting passengers from one location to another. Some autonomous vehicles may require some initial input or continuous input from an operator, such as a pilot, driver, or passenger. Other systems, for example autopilot systems, may be used only when the system has been engaged, which permits the operator to switch from a manual mode (where the operator exercises a high degree of control over the movement of the vehicle) to an autonomous mode (where the vehicle essentially drives itself) to modes that lie somewhere in between.
Motorized vehicles have been used for over 100 years to transport people and products from one location to another location. On occasion, an accident will occur, for a variety of reasons, where a vehicle will collide with another vehicle or object, or even a person. The collision may cause damage to the driven vehicle or the vehicle or object collided with, and may also cause injury to the occupants of the vehicle or the person collided with. As noted above, some vehicles have been equipped with autopilot systems, which permits the vehicle operator to switch from a manual mode to an autonomous mode or to modes that lie somewhere in between that may serve to prevent and/or reduce vehicle collisions.
As a result of the vehicle accidents that occasionally occur, in addition to the autopilot systems, certain protective features have been installed into vehicles. For example, automobiles have been structurally designed to meet certain crashworthiness standards to protect the occupants of a vehicle involved in a collision. In addition, bumpers have been installed on the front and rear of an automobile to prevent injury to the automobile in the event of a low speed collision. Vehicle bumpers are generally designed to absorb energy to prevent injury to the vehicle itself during a collision.
As noted above, vehicle bumpers may serve to protect the vehicle in a collision. However, they are generally much too hard to provide cushioning to a pedestrian involved in a collision with a vehicle. For example, vehicle bumpers are commonly made from open or closed cell foam, or from molded plastic or formed metal. These structures are generally too stiff and strong to provide cushioning to a pedestrian in the event of a pedestrian collision. Thus, a pedestrian may suffer bodily injury upon impact with a vehicle bumper during a collision with a vehicle.
Moreover, vehicle bumpers typically “spring back” after impact. Therefore, the spring back of the vehicle bumper may cause a pedestrian to rebound off the vehicle and incur a secondary impact with the road surface or other object. Vehicle bumpers are primarily designed to protect the vehicle, but are not designed to avoid pedestrian spring back which may cause secondary injuries to a pedestrian as a result. Thus, with current conventional bumper designs, a pedestrian may suffer an initial injury upon initial impact with the vehicle bumper during a collision, and also suffer a secondary injury after impacting the roadway or other object after rebounding from the vehicle bumper as a result of the “spring back” of the bumper.